Customer Reviews

The Judge

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Rebecca West's novel The Judge (1922) shows her progress as a writer of fiction four years after the publication of her first novel, The Return of the Soldier (see my review on Amazon). Intricate character development and engaging descriptions of the Scot and British environments are presented in both novels. The psychological tension and interweaving of the landscapes guiding the story are more evident in West's second novel producing a work that is more coherent and interesting.

The Judge, a much longer novel, is evenly paced though the story is limited in action and scope. The tale of a poor young girl's fascination with the beauty of life and her domination by an older more experienced and economically set man is simple and direct. The entanglements of Richard's past begin to restrict Ellen's emotional and physical freedom. The Yaverland family history entangles the intelligent young girl and forces her to endure the seamier borders of her fate. The story becomes complex as West tightens the psychological noose on Ellen. West uses retrospective descriptions of Richard's mother Marion and her persecution by people in a small ingrown British sea town to structure the characters' future and push them toward an inevitable outcome.

If you like a tightly structured story, psychologically intimate character portraits, and poetically detailed descriptions of settings, you will enjoy reading The Judge. While reading you can consider the power of people, related by family or sharing a community, to judge each other and administer sentences for the perception of sins committed against them.